Sipsey Trail Maintenance Trip Planning

“I think I'll try the King's Cove route next solo trip just to scout it out. May be too much work. There were a LOT of blowdowns at the start of the old roadbed.”

“That's true. I hadn't looked at it from that perspective. I still believe that the lower end of the 204 is worth preserving, however. I'm not disagreeing with you SS, I think the King's Cove trail is worth clearing. It sounds like a big task though, and I know that while the 204 is bad, it's not that bad, and could probably be cleared with a weekend or two's concerted effort.”

“Stovestomper the old trail you are talking about is overgrown. It has several blowdowns. The lower part of 204 is used by some to make a loop out of Bee branch. I would be willing to help on either one if I'm off for the weekend.
As far as the chainsaw cutting. The gates are closed and locked. But some folks around here ride horsed and mules and wagons. If you have a wagon you can get a key to some of these gates. The work that had been done with the chainsaw that I saw was done several weks age. They went around the gate on the west side. They went in with a fairly heavy wagon with rubber tires. From the size of the footprints I woud say that the were pulled by a pair of mules. One wagon came in behind them weighing quite a bit less and was pulled by a single horse or a mule with big feet. They had about a 14 inch chain saw. Later someone riding a horse came behind them using a bowsaw. It also appeared that two people on foot wearing tennis shoes moved some brush off of the trail. I don't know if the guys had permission to use the chainsaw or not, but they did make a big differance in the trail.

BAMA”

“While I'm a few days late saying so, I appreciate the effort of all who helped clear the trails in the Sipsey a couple of weeks ago (and at other times too.) I hope to meet you guys sometimes and enjoy your fellowship.

Uncle Wayne”

“For all of those who know BAMA, I have some sad news to pass on. His dad died February 26th at home. I know he and the family would appreciate your thoughts and prayers during this time.

Uncle Wayne”

“Sorry. I posted to this thread by accident. Edited and moved to it's own thread.
last edited: 7/05/05 11:29:58 PM”

“Good pics. Gotta love the Sipsey waterfalls! Cute kids! It looks like you all had a great time!”

“isn't it about time we start planning this years fall trip to the Sipsey? - any known trail maintenance needs ?”

“That ridge we hiked in Feb? j/k”

“I haven't been to the Sipsey in more than a year, so I have no idea. But we should start planning the next trip.”

“actually we could make a good impact on 210 - I have a few saws I could bring if there is interest - the pine is mostly easy stuff to cut once it has dried out like the stuff we ran into on 210”

“Haven't ever been up on the 210...sounds like a plan. Isn't it pretty dry though?”

“You could make an impact there, but who would benefit? The next group where their trip organizer screws up and takes them up there. Man, that was some ugly terrain.”

“well it would have been nice if we could have cruised into that water fall area like we were thinking of but ... on well

I think it will be a nice area in a few more years when the trees start getting some height on them assuming there is no fire - if it burns it could be ugly for a year or so but then it probably would start looking good fairly quickly.

wrt to dry - yeah it was a bit dry although I think I remember a couple places to get water while up there - the biggest problem with 210 is still the blowdowns unless they have been cleared since we were up there.”

“I think it's just a matter of time before the Sipsey burns. All the dead pines from the beetle just lying on the ground...maybe we'll be lucky though.”

“Yes, it would've been nice to get to that waterfall.

I'm really afraid that half the Sipsey will burn in the next few years.”

“Beat me by 11 seconds.”

““Beat me by 11 seconds.”
dayhiker
9:29:41 AM
7/06/05


bitpusher beats dayhiker - film at 11”

“HOI, what's the best place to get one of those Corona pruning saws you talk about?”

“I usally get mine at Ben Meadows

I just got a new one - if you would like the old saw I would be willing to give it to you.”

“That would be great! Can you show me how to sharpen it?”

“that is the reason I buy new ones - its just not worth the effort to sharpen one when you can get a new one for a less than $50”

“I gotcha. It does seem like it would be a pain.”

“email me a ship to address that USPS priority mail can get to

email addr hog_on_ice at hotmail”

“OK. Here it comes!”

“Dang! Get sidetracked by a Tropical Storm and I missed out on a free saw offer! ;-)

Let's wait for cooler weather AFTER hurricane season. Then I'm IN.”

“210 isn't that mostly a horse trail...we'd need a bulldozer for that toothpick catastrophe.......let them work on it...i say it's too wide and needs reclaiming...lets hit a foot trail.”

“I love sipsey trail maintenance! Let's start planning a trip in the fall!”

“208 is the horse trail. 210 is the ridge trail in the northeast part of the Sipsey”

“Hello everyone, I haven’t been in contact with anyone since dayhiker’s Sipsey trip back in February. I would like to apologize to everyone for having to leave that trip so soon without telling anybody, I left a note on the tree where I was camped I hope someone found it….

After setting up camp I realized that I had left something in my car, so I decided to go ahead and hike the 2 miles back before it got any later. On my way out I met my brother hiking in to find me; I knew instantly that something was wrong. When he told me what had happened I hiked back into camp to pack up, when I got there not a soul was in camp so I threw everything in my pack, wrote a quick note and headed out…

Anyways, it has been rather difficult around here the last few months, but I am defiantly looking forward to hitting the trail with ya’ll again very soon… So I’m with MissOpie, let’s start planning a trip for this fall…

Later
Slowroller”

“How about October 7-9?

Will that work for everyone?”

“Damn man,sure is good to see you post.All of us were concerned about you and your family after you left.I had thought about writing a post inquiring as to your how thing were going for you.Look forward to seeing you on the trail.”

“Sorry we missed ya too. Maybe next trip, as I definetly plan on going back to Sipsey.”

“Yep, good hearing from ya.
Hope things are better for you now.”

“Dennis SUX!!! Have you seen that monster lately, its HUGH!!! Are you staying put or heading north?


Oops wrong thread.....








...again!
last edited: 7/08/05 2:30:22 PM”

“we're going to need some intel about Sipsey after Dennis moves through just to give us some idea about where to go for the trail maintenance”

“I will try to go down there and check it out, maybe midweek, next week.”

“HOI, I got the saw yesterday! Thanks!”

“Unfortunately, from the size and projected path of this hurricane, looks like you could pick your favorite trail and it will need trail maintenance! I'm in the Birmingham area and would be interested in a maintenance trip this fall.”

“...my mother used to say that the wind was God's way of cleaning out the trees.....”

“I hiked the Sipsey 209 yesterday and the ground was still wet & even muddy in many places (from Cindy). With the recent path projection of Dennis still being a TS all the way to Tupelo, I have no doubt that Bankhead/Sipsey will look like a nuke blast area by Tuesday morning.

THIS SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“There are areas where it already looks like that from the pine beetle attack.....at least this will make it safer to camp and not have to worry about trees falling on you that have been damaged by the pine beetle...now fire is what I worry about....with all these trees dying......Sipsey will really suffer....”

“BTW, some asswipes left 2 styrofoam coolers full of perishables (even meat - ACK!) plus 3 garbage bags full of garbage at the campsite at the junction of the Sipsey & Borden Creek. Everything was rotten as hell. I took out 1 bag of garbage but could not get the rest.

May they rot in hell.”

“thats not off topic at all...not only are we concerned with blowdowns..but trash and fire ring removal. We'll have to remember to bring some of those new Jackie Chan tearproof bags and hump them out full”

“I had been promising to take my two kids (Sam 11, Claire 9) to the big tree for quite some time. After reading of the shortcut to Bee Branch, I thought that would be perfect for a day hike without too much walking for the kids.

The walk up to 205 went great. From 205 to the aluminum band and down into W.Bee Branch was a disaster. The blowdowns were neverending. We eventually made to E.Bee Branch but it was so late I convinced the kids that we needed to forego visiting the big tree. Also, fearing we would get caught in the dark without a trail, if we returned along the "shortcut", I convinced them we should return along 209/206. On the way out of E Bee Branch, we came across what appeared to be an abandoned backpack with a tent and two sleeping bags. The kids and I believed them to be abandoned because of the layer of leaves covering them. Still, we weren't certain.

We took a break at the confluence of Bee Branch and Sipsey and took some time to rest and make hot drinks, boil up some ramen noodles, and carve off several slices of summer sausage.

While a much, much longer walk was required to return to our car at the Thompson Creek trailhead, it was not nearly so treacherous and much more child friendly. There were still quite a number of blowdowns between Bee Branch and the Sipsey Rapids but the kids handled them with out too much trouble. From the Sipsey Rapids on, the trail was almost entirely clear. A big "Thanks" to those responsible for that.

We spent the last hour walking in the dark. My son did a great job of picking out the trail. I had a little twin "L-E-D" headlamp that did little to illuminate the trail but Sam's eyes were up for the task.

By the time we were in the car and had a cell phone signal, my wife had already dialed 911 was busy coordinating a rescue team.

All in all it was quite the adventure.

Photos of my kid's two-nighter trip to Bankhead last year are at:
http://community.webshots.com/album/205592280TmeQfO

We will post pics of yesterdays "day hike to hell and back" later.

Just thought I'd drop in and recount our little adventure.
last edited: 10/10/05 1:01:23 PM”

“Yah, with the shorter days, the big tree is getting to be more than a dayhike. If you started at daybreak and took the long way you could probably make it before nightfall though. The long way was pretty clear, then?”

“The long way was clear all the way around "Ship Rock" to the Sipsey Rapids. From there, the uncleared blowdowns increased (but not terribly). The farther from the rapids one got, the greater the number of blowdowns. Bee Branch was bad.

Nothing compared to the condition on 205 and West Bee Branch however. That was pure misery.”

“OK..thanks for the trail report!”

“it gets depressing - I want to go and do some blowdown work in the Sipsey but my shoulders have not recovered from last year and I am worried I may never be able to do any trail maintenance work in the future.”